I think I'm going to stay out of the DU war that has just begun.

[MineralMan]

The battle lines are drawn, even before any details are known, and casualties are mounting. Yup. I'm going to join threads that aren't slugfests for a few days.

After a few days, when some real information is available about what President Obama has in mind, I'll get back into those discussions. For now, the flames of battle are just too high for me.

[CoffeeCat]

1. I won't get involved in the war either, dammit!!

What war?

[samplegirl]

2. Yeah because we all know the Republican tactics

from the start...........FAILURE TO OBAMA!!!

We all know we would be better off under (a republican I guess)!

[tekisui]

3. It seems you just put yourself squarely in it.

Why the need to involve yourself by announcing your non-involvement?

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. ..

:thumbsup:

[MineralMan]

11. Why not? A few people are going to wonder why I'm not

posting in the battle threads. So, here's why.

You're more than welcome not to read my posts.

[tekisui]

14. You sure think highly of yourself.

[MineralMan]

23. Thanks for checking my thread to see what I said.

Truly.

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Upton]

17. You really think it was worthy of a thread?

Man, you act like people hang on your every word..

[MineralMan]

21. Thank you for visiting my thread to see what I said.

:shrug:

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bobbie Jo]

25. +1 nt

[SidDithers]

32. +1...nt

Sid

[Marr]

50. Oh, so it was hysteria to even think the Obama Administration would touch Social Security, and now

it's hysteria to think they'll cut it too deeply.

[Xipe Totec]

5. What makes a man turn neutral?

"Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?"

- Captain Zapp Brannigan

[Buns_of_Fire]

57. How very..... NEUTRAL of you to say that! :) nt

[Ohio Joe]

6. Yeah, I hear you

I'm thinking I'll do a game review or two and hide out until I can figure out what is really going to happen. I've sent an email letting the President know my stance, now it's wait and see for a bit.

[leveymg]

7. Oh, come on. We're just shooting down trial balloons. That is our role, isn't it?

[JonLP24]

9. I think this is your way of jumping into the "war"

Either way I think most people are reacted to the WH confirms part. There are more and more sources essentially saying the same thing. First it was NYT & WaPo. Now CBS.

And now he plans to propose major changes to Social Security as part of that "grand bargain," which he hopes will reduce the deficit by as much as $4 trillion over the next decade, administration sources tell CBS News.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20077452-503544.html

[MineralMan]

15. Your thinking is incorrect.

I'll be waiting to see what actual proposals appear. Only then will I have any comment on the situation.

[tekisui]

18. You just commented on it again.

[malaise]

10. I'll deal with hurricane season

:evilgrin:

[Ozymanithrax]

12. Make sure your Senators and Congressmen know what you think...

and your limit on cuts to Social Security and Medicare. I've sent emails to the President, Senators, and my state party letting them know where I draw the line. I intend to call today, and send letters by snail mail.

Once the deal is inked there will be no time complain, and it will have no more effect on the outcome than a heated discussion over Peloponnesian War has on the outcome of that event.

History is an unforgiving bitch.

[MineralMan]

20. Of course. I do that on every important issue. I'll be voicing

my opinion to those people this morning. Thank you for doing that, as well. That is the correct forum.

[JoePhilly]

13. Reminds me of the State of the Union predictions ....

Obama was definitely going to announce major cuts to SS and medicare then. DU had endless threads on how evil Obama was. Then it did not happen. And the outrage machine simply moved on.

Then I think it was February when Obama's budget was coming out. THAT was when the announcement was going to come. Flames grew again. Obama was evil. Then nothing happened. The machine moved on.

Then again in March, Obama was to give a speech on the deficit. THAT was going to be when the announcement was too come. New flames. Obama was evil. Then nothing happened. And the machine moved on.

And now here we are again. The flames grow. THIS time its going to happen. Absolutely. Obama is clearly evil.

And who knows ... maybe THIS time it will happen. Or not.

[tekisui]

16. I've not read ay threads that say it is for sure going to happen or

that Obama is evil.

Can you not debate in good faith with honesty and without exaggeration?

[pscot]

38. Oh, This is abuse

Arguments is the next door down.

[JoePhilly]

59. Then you aren't looking very hard.

Today particularly, they are easy to find.

And I'm not debating anything ... I'm simply describing how this same kind of knee jerk reaction has occurred repeatedly since the start of the year on this same topic.

And each prior time, when the prediction didn't pan out ... the outrage dropped away, only to return a month or so later via new unnamed sources.

But hey, we can pray that this time the predictions are correct I guess.

[Pholus]

30. Well, not that I'd completely trust the WSJ, but this is what they said about January

http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704629004576136644110567896.html

"The White House last month considered offering specific benefit cuts and tax increases to shore up Social Security's finances, but ultimately decided to back off.

Officials weighed suggesting that Congress raise the ceiling on wages subject to the Social Security payroll tax and allow benefits to rise more slowly than under current law, according to three people familiar with the deliberations. The hope was to engage Republicans in talks.

But aides decided against putting forward the ideas, sure to be unpopular, without a clear signal from Republicans that they were ready to talk. As a result, the budget President Barack ..."

-------------------------------------------------------------

And no I won't pay for the whole article. It seems I need to save even more for retirement. THANKS GUYS!!!!

[JoePhilly]

58. So back then, unnamed sources predicted something was going to happen ...

DU exploded.

And then the predicted event didn't happen.

And new unnamed sources explained why the event they predicted, didn't happen.

Sounds familiar.

[Pholus]

67. Yes, pretty much fitting a pattern.

See, "we do not support extension of the Bush tax cuts"

became

"we do not PERMANENTLY support extension of the Bush tax cuts"

using unnamed sources too. That pretty much (and tragically) came
to pass.

That's what a trial balloon is.

Besides, why separate January from July? It is an evolution of a
concept (restructuring social security), not two isolated events.

[JoePhilly]

68. Ahhhh ... my counter ... DADT.

Obama was NEVER going to get that done ... right? That was the DU prediction. Over and over.

Obama makes a deal on taxes cuts, keeps the tax cuts for the middle class (a huge promise that he could not break), gets an unemployment extension, and DADT as part of the bargain.

Where is DU focused, only on what he did not get.

If he makes actual cuts to SS I'll be pissed.

But if I am anything ... it is anti-knee-jerk.

And the predictions of the death of Social Security (which is what is predicted) are starting to get kind of old.

Kind of like Glenn Beck predicting the end of America on a regular basis.

[Bragi]

19. Good move from a mental health standpoint

I think I'll do the same, since there's not much to do at this point I can do other than to watch the saga unfold, and to eventually assess the results.

(I should note that my sense of political impotence over what Washington does is very real and quite well-founded, what with me being a Canadian and all.)

Regards to all.

[myrna minx]

22. Then why did you post this thread?

:shrug:

[MineralMan]

26. Why do you ask? Obviously, I posted it because I wanted to.

Thanks for visiting the thread and commenting.

[Bluenorthwest]

24. Passive aggression is never cute. You can not 'stay out' by

chiming in. Disingenuous. The highly charged language you used in your post is not that of a person wh is 'staying out' but of a person who is throwing arrows and running off.

[MineralMan]

28. Thank you for caring what I think, and for your reply.

[Bluenorthwest]

31. I do not know what you think, man, you speak backhanded and

indirect. That was the point of my reply. To announce with heavy lexicon that you are not going to chime in is just contradictory. If you were to speak your mind, then I might know what is on it. All I know about your 'thinking' now is that you never speak to your point, but around it.

[Ryano42]

27. Things here seem just a wee bit tense and out of control...

THANK GOD FOR THE LOUNGE!!!! :D :kick:

[grantcart]

33. Your not going to make the Republicans happy with that strategy

[MineralMan]

35. Making Republicans happy is never my goal.

Never has been. Never will be.

[EFerrari]

65. Because everytime we have a discussion, Republicans are happy and a kitten dies!

LOL

[KharmaTrain]

34. My Time On DU Is Less And Less...

I find it harder and harder to post around here (not that it matters to most...I'm probably on ignore anyway...:rofl:)

[MineralMan]

36. Not ignored by me. I have just three people on ignore.

I guarantee you're not one of them.

[kstewart33]

37. Point well made.

Currently, it's a waste of time.

Facts first.

[MineralMan]

39. Thanks. I appreciate it.

When facts are available there will be something to discuss.

[msanthrope]

40. What a novel idea, waiting for facts! Much better than reading the media

speculations and figuratively crapping oneself.

[MineralMan]

42. I'm old enough to remember all the times I got overexcited about

something, only to find out later that I had gotten the whole thing wrong. Now, I wait a bit to see if there's really a fire, or if someone just burned the toast. I only call the fire department if there's a real fire.

[pipi_k]

46. This reminds me of...

a quote attributed to Mark Twain...

"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."

;)

[MineralMan]

48. I like that. Mark Twain said lots of true things.

Thanks for that one.

[Ichingcarpenter]

41. 'You can't fight in here its the War Room'

I still think that the bomb will drop though....
I really hope not.

[MineralMan]

43. I honestly don't know. I'm sure I'll find out, though, and

soon. Then I'll react to what is real, rather than to what is imagined.

[pipi_k]

44. Same here...nobody knows for sure...

absolutely, positively, and without a doubt what's GOING to happen.

I sure as hell don't.

And it's idiotic to get involved in bullshit battles over something that hasn't even happened yet.


As they say, "hide thread" really is our friend sometimes. ;)

[MineralMan]

45. Well, I"m going to read the threads. I'm just not going to post in

them.

[pipi_k]

47. You have more willpower than I do then...

I have to stay away from them completely or risk breaking my own vow to not get involved in any way.

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MineralMan]

54. And I'm still waiting. As I said.

I do not know what will happen.

[Marr]

55. Yes, you do. Cuts.

[rucky]

51. It's not a war - just a collective freak-out & some name-calling.

In other words, another day on the DU

[Lucian]

52. And you had to start a thread on this...why?

[MineralMan]

53. I didn't have to. I chose to. There is a difference.

I chose to post. You chose to reply. We all choose what we do.

[Shagbark Hickory]

56. I think I'm going to take a hiatus myself.

[Puglover]

60. I'll be sure to alert the media. NT

[MineralMan]

62. It seems very unlikely that they'll be interested,

but you're welcome to do that. It just seems a waste of time to me. I haven't made the news for years. The last time was on May 6, 1995, when a piece of parody software I created made the front page of the business section of the San Jose Mercury News. I have that framed and it's hanging on the wall next to me. Since then, I've been out of the news cycle.

[TaupeDem]

61. Passive Agressive post. And who's on first? EOM

[MineralMan]

64. Thanks for reading it and kicking it.

I appreciate that very much.

[joeybee12]

63. Yeah, but be sure and come back and admit you were wrong...

Apologists here always do that, don't they?

[MineralMan]

66. If I had actually stated an opinion and I was wrong, I would

do that. I haven't, though. I've said that I'm waiting to see what happens with all of this. When I know, then I'll join the discussions, since there will be something to discuss. Thanks for your interest in my thread.

[ecstatic]

69. LOL @ the bitter responses

Sheesh... are people really getting mad at you because you've chosen NOT to pile on?

[Rex]

70. Good idea, you've been in the middle of the battle for too long.

Take a break...in the end, it is not worth the stress. Time will tell us all we need to know.